Fishing practices in Indonesian waters may have played a key role in hiking fishball prices in Singapore, a new report suggested. Multiple factors are seen to have impacted pricing but ultimately, illegal fishing has something to do with the crisis.
According to Channel News Asia, the yellowtail fish is the most favored fish type that Singaporeans prefer for their fishballs. However, prices have been climbing, marking an end to the cheap prices that one of the city-state's major snacks boasts of.
The new report noted that compared to a decade ago, fishball prices are now well over 30 percent more in many supermarkets. The hike is attributed to soaring prices for the yellowtail fish.
Singapore's yellowtail fish supply comes primarily from Indonesia, which is why some industry experts noted that the hiking prices should be traced back to its source: Indonesian fish-farming practices.
Suppliers are from Indonesia's Bangka Belitung Islands. While the yellowtail fish once used to be abundant in the said region, local fishermen said scarcity is starting to show as some foreign fishermen use illegal fishing practices to harvest the wild fish.
Competition plus the arrival of "boats from outside" as local Indonesian fishermen referred to them have sent the population of yellowtail fish to smaller volumes. Foreign fishermen are also said to sell their catch at lower prices.
Illegal fishing remains a huge problem for the Indonesian government. The bigger problem is how illegal fishermen haul in their catch. Many of them use nets with small holes and others make use of dynamites.
Despite problems with illegal fishing in Indonesian waters, the country's Minister of Fisheries, Susi Pudjiastuti, has taken a firm stand against the practice. According to WIRED, Pudjiastuti has taken down over 300 illegal vessels who stepped in his country's area of responsibility ever since he took the ministerial seat in 2014.
The Indonesian government has been vocal about its distaste for illegal vessels touching down on Indonesian waters. Pudjiastuti continues to lay out plans to keep off illegal fishermen from taking the country's catch, especially the fish types meant for export.
Meanwhile, Singapore continues to live by its love for fishballs, especially those made from yellowtail fish. Earlier this month, My Late Deals created the Street Food City Index 2019, wherein cities were ranked for the popularity of their street food offers.
Singapore sat comfortably in fourth place, thanks to the many recipes Singaporeans have developed from fishballs. In third place is Vietnam's Ho Chi Minh, in second is Thailand's Bangkok, and on the top spot is China's Hong Kong.
Other countries from the top five to 10 respectively are Mumbai, Rome, Tel Aviv, Sydney, Mexico City, and Portland. The index focused on four criteria for judging: sanitation, street food experiences or offers, affordability, and the number of vendors in the city.
